End Times Bible Prophecy and News, End Times Deception, Societal Collapse, Apostasy, False Christs – Prophets – Apostles – Teachers, Whore of Babylon Church, Opinion, Commentary & Bible Teaching, Demonic Power, War, Rumors of War, Famine, Pestilence, Familiar Spirits,Salvation in Jesus Christ, NWO, UFOs, Earthquakes, Counterfeit Christianity, New World Order, Conspiracies, Nephilim, Giants, Signs and Lying Wonders, End Times Sin & Corruption
From the beginning, man has refused to heed the Word of God.
Adam, the first man, refused to heed the Word of God. By Adam’s disobedience were all future men forced to become sinners, lost and groping about in this lost and fallen world, waiting for the eventual hope which was Jesus Christ.
“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”
–Roman 5:19
That man will not heed God’s Word was also true hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ, in the time of the prophet, Jeremiah.
“And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.”
–Jeremiah 25:4
“To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.”
–Jeremiah 6:10
“But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.”
–Jeremiah 22:5
This was also true in the time of the prophet, Isaiah.
“That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.”
–Isaiah 30:9-11
Shortly after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, men STILL refused to heed the Word of God.
“For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.”
–Acts 3:22-23
So shall it be in the end times.
Actually, not heeding God’s Word is particularly true of end times man.
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
–2TIMOTHY 4:3-4
“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
“And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.”
–Revelation 11:3,6-10
The closer we come to the climax of human history (Revelation 4-22), the more intensely the world will challenge the Word of God.
The reader will be FORCED to make a choice–and the Bible declares that the overwhelming majority of men will forsake God Word and choose the deceptive stories of the world.
Men do not heed or obey the Word of God because they are lost and deceived.
“And the great dragon…that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.”
–Revelation 12:9
How sad: the remedy for their lost and deceived state is that very thing about which they are so deceived.
So, actually, the situation is tragic.
Still for all that, a few WILL heed the Word of God.
DOES the reader heed the Word of God?
DOES the reader heed the Word of God whenever it is convenient: when it does not conflict with science, medicine or any other of man’s authorities?
It is not YET too late: there is still time to change direction (repent), place your faith (hope) for the future entirely on Jesus Christ and enter the kingdom of heaven.
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. ”
–1 Corinthians 15:1-8
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
-–Romans 1:16
THE WORLD: The corrupt value system outside of Jesus Christ.
The world simply defined is anyone who is outside of Jesus Christ. The world is the broad way that leads to destruction, and so includes all religious systems that forsake Jesus Christ in one way or another. To be in Christ, is to be on the narrow way that leads to life.
The world includes those who bear bad fruit because their profession of faith, which is based upon man-made doctrines and/or religious traditions, is false, while those in Christ believe and adhere to the biblical doctrines which reveal their glorious Savior. The world includes those who profess faith in Christ but do not obey Him, while those who are in Christ have turned away from the works of the flesh and are living in obedience to God their Father by walking in the Spirit, producing the fruit of the Kingdom of God. Those in the world are rejected by Jesus Christ and are eternally damned; those who belong to Christ are beloved and are eternally saved.
13Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in there at: 14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it. 15Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. 18A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21Not everyone that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:13-23
The world is lost and in darkness; it is controlled and led by Satan. That kingdom of darkness which is led by Satan is at enmity with Christ, attacking God’s children and spreading damnable lies through false teachers and false prophets. Those who belong to Christ belong to the light, are led by the light, and are filled with the Holy Spirit, controlled by Him. They share the gospel of Jesus Christ, speaking the truth in love, seeking to bring the lost into the Kingdom of God.
Christ’s redeemed saints stand fast for the truth, expose the lies of the enemy, warning their beloved brethren to reject those who spread error and false teaching. Those who are of the world walk in darkness and sin, they have no fellowship with God the Father or His Son Jesus Christ. The saints of God have confessed and repented of their sins, they have put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His blood cleanses them from all sin. They believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for their sins and rose again from the dead for their justification and victory. Those who are Christ’s live for His praise and glory, obeying the Word of God because Jesus Christ has rescued His beloved saints from the kingdom of darkness, the control of Satan, and has brought them into the glorious freedom of the saints of God.
“The world is the broad way that leads to destruction, and so includes all religious systems that forsake Jesus Christ in one way or another.”
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Acts 26:18
12Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: Colossians 1:12-13
19We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. 20And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:19-20
35Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walks in darkness knows not whither he goes. 36While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spoke Jesus, and departed, and did hide Himself from them. John 12:35-36
19And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21But he that does truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. John 3:19-21
Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. John 8:12
5This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7
There is absolutely no correlation between the world and those who are the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. If we belong to God’s Kingdom then as His beloved children we must turn away from the kingdom of darkness that is controlled by the enemy of our souls, the spirit that is at work in the sons of disobedience. We are commanded in a number of Scriptures to have nothing to do with the world. Those who love the world bear witness to being of the world.
Those who embrace worldly doctrines and false teaching, those systems of error that contradict what the Bible tells us about our Savior Jesus Christ, His Gospel and our Father’s true Kingdom, prove they are of the world and so rejected by God. The world is at enmity with God and He has commanded us to be separate from the world, not to be on friendly terms with the world, but instead to bear witness to the truth of the Word of God and seek to rescue the lost.
15Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:15-17
4Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? 6But He gives more grace. 7Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hears, you double-minded. James 4:4-8
14Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” 17Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” 18“I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:14-18
We, who belong to Jesus Christ through repentant faith in Him, are in the minority. We must stand together in truth and love for the glory of our Savior. We must love and support each other as commanded in the Scriptures. The vast majority of those around us, even those within the visible church, is of the world and so are rejected by God and bound for destruction. As believers in Jesus Christ, our work for His glory should be to share the truth of the gospel and rescue the lost, even the lost that populate the church. Though we are a small population and sorely distressed oft times, we serve Jesus Christ, God Almighty, who is able to do exceedingly above all that we ask or think. Let us continue to serve Him in His work of redemption, sharing the gospel and standing fast for the truth. May God bless us for His glory, praise and honor.
19Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back,20let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. James 5:19-20
Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is such a wonderful Savior. I would like to share verses from Scriptures to encourage our hearts with the wonder of the glory of Jesus Christ. May the Lord bless our hearts and minds as we read and contemplate these verses. How many times do we quote verses out of Philemon? The first verse that I want to share to start us on our study of the wonder of Jesus Christ comes from Philemon.
I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.Philemon 4-6
As we understand and contemplate all of the good things that are in us through Jesus Christ our Lord we can then effectively share our faith in Him with others.
We are told:
“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
First and foremost, God in His mercy and love sent His Son Jesus Christ as our Savior and He is the only One who saves. No one else can save us from the wrath of God that our rebellion and sin deserves.
14 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:14-16
“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:36
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners , Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:8-10
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21
Jesus Christ has reconciled us to God through His death, has justified us through His blood, and guarantees our salvation through His life. He became sin for us that we would become the righteousness of God in Him. What a wonderful Savior!
While we wait here for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have unlimited resources through Him while we live for and serve Him.
20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. 21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. 2 Corinthians 1:20-22
But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. 1 John 2:27
9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. Colossians 2:9-10
33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:33-39
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:2-4
1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. 1 John 2:1-2
16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. 17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. Hebrews 2:16-18
“Through Jesus Christ we have access to God and all the resources that He has for His saints.”
14 Seeing them that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jess Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Ephesians 1:3
15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His might power 20 which he worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. Ephesians 1:15-21 & 3:14-21
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21
Through Jesus Christ we have access to God and all the resources that He has for His saints. We must always keep in mind that the blessings we can enjoy here and now through Christ are exceedingly greater than we can ask or think, and He meets all of our needs; the need to be loved, the need to be forgiven, the need to be strengthened, the need for sound instruction and guidance from His Word, the need to be encouraged during difficulty, tribulation, and persecution. Jesus Christ is our all in all both now and for eternity. What a wonderful Savior!
As amazing as His riches are for us as we wait for Him, we will share in even greater blessings when we join Him in Heaven, whether He takes us home, or He comes back again. It astounds me those things that God has in store for us when we are with Him forever.
13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in Heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,9 receiving the end of your faith –the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:3-9
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,… 2 Corinthians 4:17
8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. 9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. 2 Corinthians 4:17
21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. 24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. Philippians 1:21-24
20 For our citizenship is in Heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. Philippians 3:20-21
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is reveled, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 1 John 3:2
What awaits us when we see Christ is more glorious then we can ever imagine, but God’s Word makes it clear that the glory and wonder of being with Christ will make all that we have endured, while we wait for Him, well worth it. This is especially true since we are in no way worthy of His great love, mercy, grace and abundant blessings which He bestows upon us through His Son Jesus Christ in regards to salvation, living for Him and being with Him for eternity. What a wonderful Savior! Let us be eager to share the good news of this wonderful Savior with those that we meet and know.
TRUSTING THE SAVIOR: Trusting the One who never will let you down.
I am amazed at the grace of Jesus Christ and His awesome love for me. How could He love such a one as me? When I was growing up I believed what my father told me about God, that He didn’t exist. I believed what my father said, that religion was a crutch. Did I believe him because he was such a wonderful father? No I believed him because I was such a wicked sinner, even at a tender age.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Psalm 51:5
1 Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones? Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men? 2 No, in heart you work wickedness; You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth. 3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. Psalm 58:1-3
It is by God’s grace that I am saved.
Can we be saved apart from the gracious work of God in our hearts? Can we be saved by adhering to certain doctrines? Can we be saved when someone “leads” us to Christ or by having an emotional experience during a church service? What exactly does it mean to be saved?
31 “Behold, the days are coming, says, the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah-32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34
There is a transaction that has taken place here between the sinner and the living God. It is initiated by God and results in the wicked impenitent being reconciled to the Holy God and being converted from one doomed to destruction to a recipient of the life of God through faith in Jesus Christ. This life of God is not a merely academic acknowledgement of the key doctrines of the Bible, but is the result of meeting the living God through His Son, Jesus Christ.
29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. 31 Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” Acts 5:29-32
18 “But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. Acts 3:18-21
Again we see that God is vitally and intimately involved in the salvation of those who repent of their sins and put their trust in Jesus Christ. He raised up Jesus Christ from the dead and exalted Him to His right hand to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to all who believe. Refreshing comes from the presence of the Lord and we receive the Holy Spirit when we believe in Jesus Christ.
There are those who have a testimony of belief in the truth without receiving the life of the Savior. There are those who continue for a while, but then fall away. They may be the product of others who are zealous for numbers, but not zealous for bringing the lost to genuine faith and trust in the living Savior so that they may be saved.
1 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, “Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’ 5 “But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6 And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. 7 “But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ 10 “So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all who they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 “So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:1-14
Without a testimony of experience with the living God, our protests of faith and belief are empty, false, void; deserving punishment for presuming and pretending that which isn’t true.
1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:1-3
I met Jesus Christ many years ago when I called out to God the Father through Him. Jesus Christ met me and made a covenant with me exchanging His life for my life. This once wicked atheist met the living God and so was transformed from an unbeliever to a believer, from being dead in my trespasses and sins to being alive through faith in Him, from being a captive in Satan’s kingdom of darkness to being translated into the kingdom of light of God’s Beloved Son. So began my new life of faith in the Savior Jesus Christ, and the walk of trust and obedience that He calls us to. Early into this new life of faith, I had to make a decision to either follow the ideas and opinions of people or trust in God’s Word the Bible. I was brought to apply the obedience of the faith and trusted that God’s Word is true. God brought me to the point where I prayed to Him and said, “Lord I am going to trust You and Your Word.” After that prayer I had a greater understanding of the Bible when I read it.
“Since, false teaching and error in the church is endemic, during my walk with Jesus Christ, God my Father, has twice called me to stand up for His truth by reassuring me He is with me Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
Since, false teaching and error in the church is endemic, during my walk with Jesus Christ, God my Father, has twice called me to stand up for His truth by reassuring me He is with me Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Both times I had no idea what was coming, but I was able, by God’s grace, to stand for the truth and expose and refute error. I saw good fruit from my commitment to Him. I saw people turned away from dangerous teachers and error and instead encouraged to trust the truth of the Bible that God has preserved for His children. It is the Bible that we must turn to for God’s truth, because it is His testimony of His covenant with His people through the ages by means of faith in Jesus Christ. Paul makes it clear in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that we are saved through belief in the gospel.
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you-unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, 4 and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,.. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Through belief in the gospel we know the Savior Jesus Christ. This is an experiential knowledge, as recorded in the Bible. We receive the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ, and God who is alive, works in our hearts and minds.
1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Galatians 3:1-3
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21
God answers my prayers, He gives me peace and the ability to praise Him in difficult situations. His assurance of salvation protects my mind and heart from the attacks of the enemy and my own sinful nature. God has used His Word in my life more than once to convict me of sin and bring about genuine repentance. The book of Romans was used by God in a powerful way to convict me of my sin and show me that salvation is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ. By His grace, when I was questioning the lack of power in my life, I never questioned Him, I knew the problem was with me. When my faith has been assailed by unbelief, I have cried out to Him for faith and been bolstered in my trust in Him. By God’s merciful provision, I have not allowed anything to be more important to me than the love of my Savior and my love for Him, and His grace keeps me true to Him.
Even though my “church” experience hasn’t really been as positive as I would like because there is so much compromise and apostasy proliferating among the leadership and the attenders, I still trust God and His provision for me. Also, if it wasn’t for the prophecy that God has provided in the Bible, warning that this would be the case, I would be very confused and discouraged. All I can say is that God has been very merciful to me, and has graciously covered me with His love. His children know His loving presence, kindness and goodness poured out upon them abundantly through our glorious Savior Jesus Christ. We can have confidence in our experiences with Him while we await glory, because He has given us the testimony of Himself in His Word, the Bible, confirmed to us by the Holy Spirit.
1 To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: 3 Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. 8 Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith-the salvation of you souls. 10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 1 Peter 1:1-10.
RECEIVING THE SAVIOR: Jesus and the Woman of Samaria
Does Jesus Christ require that we acknowledge and repent of our sin when we put our faith in Him? The testimony of the Scriptures says yes! Paul lists sins that will keep sinners from the kingdom of God and then says those who are saved by Jesus Christ no longer live that way.
9Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Jesus Christ demonstrates this doctrine in practice by the way He interacted with men and women in the gospels.
Jesus Christ’s divine appointment with the woman at the well in Samaria is recorded for us in John chapter 4. Jesus Christ tells the woman about the living water that He can give her. She desires the living water because in her mind she won’t need to come to the well anymore and so can completely avoid embarrassing encounters with the men of the city. When she requests the water He has offered her, Jesus asks her to go get her husband and then come back. She tells Him that she has no husband and that is when He confronts her with her sin.
7A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. 10Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” 11The woman said to him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” 13Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” 15The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” 16Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband, and come here.” 17The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18“for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.” 19The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” 21Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” 26Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” John 4:7-26
“Jesus Christ, the Master Evangelist, brings this woman to the revelation of Himself after He confronted her with her sin.”
Jesus Christ, the Master Evangelist, brings this woman to the revelation of Himself after He confronted her with her sin. He adroitly leads her to Himself and her response is to go back into the city and tell the men of the city about her encounter with Jesus.
28The woman then left her water-pot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29“Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30Then they went out of the city and came to Him. John 4:28-30
Jesus Christ changed this woman by telling her the truth, including the truth about her sin. This tremendous work wrought in her heart by the Living God so impressed the men of the city that they were compelled to go to Him and they believed in Him because of her testimony about Him. Jesus Christ stayed in Samaria for two days at the request of the Samaritans and then many more believed because of His own word.
41And many more believed because of His own word. 42Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” John 4:41-42
The Samaritan woman at the well, there by necessity at that hot hour of the day, met the Messiah Who used her compulsion to offer her what she truly needed, salvation from her sins through repentant belief in Him, and the gift of everlasting life.
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 1 John 4:14
Again we see that those genuinely drawn to Jesus turn from their sin in the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.
1Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6So he made hast and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” 8Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” 9And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
This, another divine appointment for the purpose of saving a sinner, reveals how those who joyfully receive the Lord, knowing Who He is and what He has done for them, are not insulted when confronted with their sin. Instead, they confess, repent of their sin, and obey the Son of God, Jesus Christ the Messiah, their Savior and Lord.
We have seen two accounts from the Scriptures of those who gladly received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and turned from their sin. But what about those who want to cling to their sin and want Jesus Christ for fire insurance, what happens to them? They will ultimately fall away in disbelief and disillusionment. The story of the rich young ruler is a good example of what happens to those who refuse to reject their sin and put their faith in and follow Jesus Christ.
18Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying “Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is God. 20You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’” 21And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” 22So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 23But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. 24And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26And those who heard it said, “Who then can be saved?” 27But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” 28Then Peter said, “See, we have left all and followed You.” Luke 18:18-28
The rich young ruler, confident of his own goodness, came to Jesus believing Him to be a good man, calling Him Good Teacher. Jesus Christ set Him straight by disclosing that only God is good, to call Him good he must acknowledge that He is God. The rich ruler wanted eternal life, but he wanted it on his terms by his own good efforts, so he didn’t realize Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ got right to the heart of the matter and told him that he should sell all that he had and follow Him. Religion was good for this rich young ruler, he esteemed himself to be a good man and felt quite certain he could acquire heaven by his own efforts. He did not want to cast all that he had accomplished and acquired to follow a Good Teacher. He did not acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God the Savior and he went away sorrowful because he thought he could have it all with eternal life too, without acknowledging his sinfulness and his need of the Savior. In contrast, Peter and the rest of the disciples had left all to follow Jesus Christ because they knew that He is the Son of God, the Savior of the world.
25“He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there my servant will be also. 26If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” John 12:25-26
We who belong to Jesus Christ by faith in Him have turned from our sin and turned to Him. We have turned from our own evil way and have embraced His way, eager to please our glorious Lord and Savior. These verses out of Titus chapter two are true about us, His redeemed beloved children.
11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Titus 2:11-14
To God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord be the glory!
THE SINNER: Those of us who know the Lord must remember the sinner’s desperate plight as we share the gospel of our salvation in love, trusting the Holy Spirit to convict the sinner and bring him to salvation.
Scriptures give a clear picture of the precarious position of any sinner. Those of us who know the Lord must remember their desperate plight as we share the gospel of our salvation in love, trusting the Holy Spirit to convict the sinner and bring him to salvation. We must remember that it is the work of God in the heart of the sinner that brings about repentant faith in the Lord Jesus Christ since the sinner is completely impotent to do anything about their lost and damned condition. Here are verses from the Scriptures that reveal how entrapped the sinner is to sin, the devil and the world.
As we diligently search the Scriptures a clear picture surfaces from the Old and New Testaments showing how impossible it is for any person to deliver themselves from their sin.
21What wilt thou say when He shall punish thee? For thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?22 And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare. 23Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. Jeremiah 13:21-23
1Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear. 3For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. 4None calls for justice, nor any pleads for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. 5They hatch vipers’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web: he that eats of their eggs dies, and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper. 6Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. 7Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. 8The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goes therein shall not know peace. 9Therefore is judgment far from us, neither does justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. 10We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.11We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us. 12For our transgressions are multiplied before Thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;13In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. 14And judgment is turned away backward, and justice stands afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. 15Yea, truth fails; and he that departs from evil makes himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no judgment. Isaiah 59:1-15
Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. John 8:34
Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slave’s whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? Romans 6:16
These verses from the Old and New Testaments paint a very bleak picture depicting the enslavement of the sinner to sin. Slaves have no freewill of their own. Slaves are held captive by their master. Slaves of sin cannot do the good that God requires. They are blind to righteousness, captive by the lies of their own hearts, too feeble to turn from wickedness and pursue righteousness. They of themselves cannot answer general call of salvation given to all sinners by the Savior. They are dead in their trespasses and sins led astray from the truth of God by their enemy the devil who feigns great love and compassion for the wretched wicked sinner as he deceives the whole world leading them to perdition.
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12:9
…and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:26
1And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Ephesians 2:1-3
14Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Hebrews 2:14-15
“Scriptures give a clear picture of the precarious position of any sinner. Those of us who know the Lord must remember their desperate plight as we share the gospel of our salvation in love, trusting the Holy Spirit to convict the sinner and bring him to salvation.”
Dead men fearing death are non-responsive to the gospel call. They are captive to the enemy of their souls who leads them astray through his multi-hued dark doctrines of deception. The sinner enslaved by his sin and held captive by the enemy is twice bound with chains of destruction incapable of receiving the grace of God held forth in the gospel. Only the powerful act of God in the life of the sinner is effective to save the ensnared sinner from deception and destruction. However, often times the lost compelled by regret look for a way to turn around, but they reject the gospel and look to the wisdom of the world to lead them in right living. This third trap binds the sinner in a wicked web woven with lies that confirms them in their headlong plunge into damnation.
18If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also. 21But all these things will they do unto you for My name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin. 23He that hates Me hates My Father also. 24If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.25 But this comes to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated Me without a cause. John 15:18-25
42Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love Me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of Myself, but He sent me. 43Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear My word. 44Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45And because I tell you the truth, ye believe Me not. John 8:42-45
18For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 23But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness;24But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18-24
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5Do ye think that the Scripture says in vain, The Spirit that dwells in us lusts to envy? 6But He gives more grace. Wherefore He says, God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble.7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:4-7
The world is at enmity with Christ and His gospel of salvation. The world, led by Satan, will put forth a facsimile of the genuine gospel of grace but will mar it with the smudges of lies that attack Jesus Christ and His work of salvation done on behalf of the beleaguered sinner. God is gracious and sends out His gospel call to all who will repent and put their faith in His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
16“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” John 3:16-21
God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), however, the general gracious call of God to lost sinners will never be answered because of the triple bonds of captivity that bind the sinner in her night of darkness. Unless and until God works in the heart of the sinner no flesh will be saved! The con perpetuated by the flesh, the devil and the world will only lead the sinner into great depravity, many times all the while believing they know and are serving even Christ Himself. The efficacious call of God upon the life of the sinner is the only way a rebel will turn from their own way to God’s way. Those who believe and teach decisional salvation are sponsoring a knave’s ruse that guarantees the sinner’s condemnation in hell. From the bible passages quoted it is clear, as Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:25, Luke 18:27) As we share the gospel of Jesus Christ, exhorting and encouraging the lost to put their faith in Christ, may we with humble hearts trust the living God to do the work which He alone is capable of doing, reconciling lost men, women, and children to Himself. We must leave the results with Him. Let us throw off the wiles of the enemy and know it is God who saves the sinner.
BELOVED BROTHER PAUL: False teachers love to take aim at Paul.
False brethren are attacking the epistles of Paul and questioning whether they are indeed God-breathed. One tactic they use is to present a false dichotomy between the words of Jesus Christ and the rest of the New Testament. They fail to understand that all of the New Testament was given to the New Testament writers by the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ didn’t pen the words He said, His followers did as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit; and the revelation of Who Jesus Christ is and what He has done is also made known to us by men moved by the Holy Spirit to write the very Words of God in the text of the New Testament.
I believe the reason they do so is to pave the way for the promotion of homosexuality. God’s testimony that homosexuality is sin is given to us in the New Testament by the apostle Paul. Those who are supportive of this sinful behavior will often say that Jesus didn’t say anything about homosexuality. If they can convince others that Paul’s words were not given to him by the Holy Spirit, then they can dismiss the use of New Testament Scripture to reveal that homosexuality is sin. They will debunk what is stated in the Old Testament by saying that was a time of law and we now live in a time of grace, or whatever other way they strive to discredit the Old Testament prohibitions against homosexual sin.
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. Leviticus 18:22
If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. Leviticus 20:13
Another method these false brethren use to attack the New Testament is to falsely teach that the New Testament documents were not accepted as the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God until they were officially accepted into the New Testament canon, thus giving the possibility that they were falsely included. However, for those who suppose that the church did not have an agreed upon collection of inspired writings received as the Holy Writ of the New Testament before they were formally canonized, it should be realized that these God inspired writings had to be embraced as the Word of God long before they were formally canonized by the “official spokesmen” for the church.
The gospels and the book of Acts must have been in circulation well before they were canonized because of who authored them and when the men used by God to write them lived. All of the epistles and gospels that we now know as the New Testament had to be written before the end of the first century because the authors, the men used by God to write them, were all contemporaries of Jesus! These works were circulated among Believers years before the “official acknowledgement” of their authenticity as the Word of God. Additionally, they fact that the writings of the apostles were considered the Word of God is given credence in the following Scriptures.
30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. John 20:30-31
John self-consciously declares that what he has written in his book, the Gospel of John, is sufficient for bringing the lost to salvation. He would not make this statement without knowing that God inspired Him to write it as Jesus promised in John 14:24, John 15:26-27 and John 16:13-15.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you.” John 14:24
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 “And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.” John 15:26-27
13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. John 16:13-15
Jesus spoke these words to the apostles. Paul declared that the church of God is built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, with Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. So the apostles wrote about Jesus Christ and believers were built up upon their Holy Spirit inspired doctrine. Otherwise, Paul could not have joined what the apostles wrote with what the prophets wrote.
19 Now , therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22
Paul included himself as an apostle of God through the divine call of God upon Him in numerous passages in the New Testament Scriptures. Before those are quoted realize that Luke bore testimony of Jesus Christ’s call upon Paul in Acts.
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake. Acts 9:15-16
10 “So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, “Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’ Acts 22:10
11 But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.” Acts 23:11
14 “And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 “So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. 17 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance. Acts 26:14-20
Here are just a few of the verses where Paul declares his apostleship given to him by God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God Romans 1;1
Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
1 Corinthians 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother 2 Corinthians 1:1
11 I have become a fool in boasting, you have compelled me. For I ought to have been commended by you; for in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though I am nothing. 12 Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds. 2 Corinthians 12:11-12
Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead), Galatians 1;1
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Ephesians 1:1
Finally, John declares the preeminence the apostles have in sharing the gospel, that their message is the truth concerning Jesus Christ, and that what they have written is given to them by God in 1 John.
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us-3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. 1 John 1:1-4
18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come by which we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. 1 John 2:18-19
26 These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. 1 John 2:26
5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 1 John 4:5-6
John here is opposing what the antichrists and those of the world have to say about Christ, with what he and the other apostles have to say about Christ. What the apostles told the believers of their day about Christ was given to them by God and so is the inspired, inerrant, infallible truth of God. That it is written down for believers to read in the first century he has already born witness to in the first and second chapters of 1 John. By God the Father’s mercy, grace and sovereign preservation we have the Word of God handed down to us for our edification and faith today.
Finally, here is the testimony given to us in Hebrews about the faithful transmission and preservation of the gospel message given to us by God Himself.
1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? Hebrews 2:1-4
It is ludicrous to wrest the writings of Paul from the New Testament. He bore witness to Jesus Christ and relied heavily upon the Old Testament writings to confirm the revelation given to Him by Jesus Christ our glorious Lord and Savior.
One of these false brethren, a woman, discounted God’s declaration that the epistles of Paul are Scripture through His apostle Peter in 2 Peter the third chapter. The epistles written by Paul that were recognized by the church, during his lifetime, through authentication by the Holy Spirit as God’s Word are indeed on par with the rest of the Scripture. They are God-breathed.
14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation-as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. 2 Peter 3:14-18
It is necessary to look at this passage and comment upon it verse by verse to overthrow this wicked worker’s attempt to pervert what God has clearly stated through His apostle Peter regarding His chosen vessel Paul.
What things are we to look forward to, the new heavens and the new earth in which righteousness dwells. We must be diligent to be found in Christ, in peace without spot (any sin or error) and blameless (serving the Lord and others with love and lowliness by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit). The fact that Jesus Christ hasn’t judged this wicked world yet means there are still sinners to be brought to repentant faith in Jesus Christ and His glorious gospel. Paul, the beloved brother, wrote about the salvation of Jesus Christ for sinners and the longsuffering patience of our Lord toward the lost with the wisdom given to him by God the Holy Spirit.
Some things which he wrote in relation to God’s patience with sinners and commanding all everywhere to repent and believe the gospel for salvation are hard to understand which those who have not been taught by the Holy Spirit through God’s Word taught to them by faithful believers, twist and distort to their own eternal destruction. They do this with the rest of the Scriptures, distorting and perverting the crystal clear communication of God to His own, because they do not belong to Him. We have been warned and are to beware of those who twist Scripture so that we won’t be led away with their wicked error and fall from our confidence in Christ and His word. We must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by listening to His sound doctrine correctly taught by godly men full of the Holy Spirit and by our own reliance upon Him through prayer, obedience and study of His wonderful word, the Bible.
This portion of Peter’s epistle clearly contrasts the false teaching of those who twist the Scriptures with the holy teaching of Paul, who communicated God’s Word as He was led by the Holy Spirit. What he wrote is Scripture!
Beware of those who attack Paul as an illegitimate spokesman for God. They are attacking Jesus Christ and His gospel which He revealed to our beloved brother Paul. Beware of those who try to remove the inspiration of the books of the New Testament away from the time period when they were written to the time when they were “officially recognized”. Those who do so have an evil agenda to try and subvert and overthrow our confidence in the New Testament books handed down to us as the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God. I believe they strive to do this to make it easier for those who are immature and untaught in the Scriptures to unwittingly believe that God accepts homosexuals and their wicked lifestyle. We must stand for the truth of the Word of God and turn away from all wicked attacks upon its authenticity and authority as the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God.
6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel that what you have received, let him be accursed. 10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. 11 But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 for I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ…1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me. 2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel with I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain… 7 But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter 8 (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles) 9 and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I was eager to do. Galatians 1:6-12; 1-2; 7-10
End Times Prophecy Report 